Marshfield restaurants to start rewarding sober drivers

Marshfield is set to become the fourth local town to adopt a program that rewards designated drivers with free soft drinks. Hingham, Rockland and Norwell already use the free-drink incentive to try to prevent drunken driving.

Marshfield is set to become the fourth local town to adopt a program that rewards designated drivers with free soft drinks.

Nearly all of Marshfield’s restaurants have already agreed to partner with police efforts to prevent drunken driving. The designated driver program encourages restaurants to offer free non-alcoholic beverages to customers who identify themselves as a designated driver.

Police Lt. Arthur Shaw said he notified all but two of Marshfield’s restaurants last week about the new campaign, which he expects to start sometime this summer. Participation is voluntary, but Shaw said most of the restaurants are already on board.

“It’s a win-win,” Shaw said. “There’s really no negative to it.”

Hingham, Rockland and Norwell have similar programs. In 2003, Hingham was the first to introduce this incentive for sober drivers. The Plymouth County district attorney’s office provides free promotional materials to participating restaurants.

Hingham police Sgt. Steven Dearth said only half of the town’s restaurants participated in the program’s first year, but a decade later all Hingham establishments now take part.

“They’ve had great success with it there,” Shaw said of Hingham’s program.

Dearth said the program’s effectiveness in mitigating drunken driving is impossible to measure, but he said it is apparent that only good can come from it.

“It’s a preventative and awareness program,” he said.

Colleen Sullivan, manager at the Cask ’n Flagon in Marshfield, said her restaurant gave out free soft drinks to designated drivers on New Year’s Eve. Shaw said the Cask ’n Flagon was one of the first Marshfield spots to agree to adopt the program permanently.

“It’s a no-brainer,” Sullivan said.

Patrick Ronan may be reached at pronan@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @PRonan_Ledger.